Gauntlet: Gehenna
by Cap'n Chryssalid
Summary: (Complete) The final chapter to the Gauntlet Series. The crimes of the past resonate in the present, Brick's full plans become known, and nothing is a certainty. (Sequel to Gauntlet: Advent)


Insert worthless not legally binding in court disclaimer stuff here. Like a good communist, I own nothing.

* * *

"Gauntlet: Gehenna"

* * *

**1997 CE  
October 5  
T- .1 Hours**

Alarm claxons resounded like choral bells, and Colonel John Utonium, PhD was in no mood for this sort of interruption. Rushing down the dimly lit corridor known only as '2E,' a tall man in an open lab coat, a dark red tie contrasting sharply, found who he was looking for. His personal bodyguard and secretary flanked him: a pretty woman in fatigues, with short dark hair. She kept pace next to him, her weapon - a standard issue FN P-90 5.56mm, drawn and at the ready.

"What the hell is going on, Lieutenant?" The older man adjusted his lapel, showing the rank it conveyed. In many ways, it carried more power than his actual military rank. He was the Commander of this place, and personnel both the civilian and military answered to him.

"I'm sorry, sir." The other man saluted, quickly, from where he stood by the security station that led into the main lab areas. "We've initiated containment procedures Seven Three Fourteen. Bravo Teams one through four and Charlie teams one through four have already cut non-emergency power, secured the geothermal plant, and attempted containment."

"My... my son is down there." John set his jaw, and his mind. "You will let me pass, soldier."

"Sir. Regulations..."

Utonium's cold brown eyes pierced him like a javelin. "Get out of my way!"

"Um." The young military man gulped, unsure. Hastily, he tried to buy time. "Colonel, Able Teams two and three should be here momentarily. They're off duty, but should be suited up any minute..."

"I've had enough of this." John Utonium reached out, and none too gently, forcibly moved the man out of his way. Pressing his hand to the opaque gel-plate that was the key through into the lab areas, he opened the way, and ran forward without hesitation.

"Robert...!" He raced forward. What had happened?

"Sir, slow down, sir!" The voice was calm, though with a hint of concealed nervousness. Slowing, he allowed his personal aide to resume her place next to him. In a moment, the guard, too, fell in step.

"I can't protect you if you run ahead like that, sir." Jean chided him.

"Yeah." The guard added.

Professor Utonium's face betrayed no amusement. "Then try harder." He looked down the dark hall. It was quiet; too quiet. "Because I'm NOT slowing down."

* * *

The sea stretched out below with depressing regularity. The land that had been Townsville was out of sight, even for someone with enhanced vision. They were, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere. The coast of California was a memory, and as she flew, Blossom wondered about the rest of the world. Was the fate of Townsville that of all the Earth? In the end... had they failed to serve and protect? Had all their efforts, all their work, all their genuine love for the people and the city, had it all been for nothing?

And where were they going?

Brick flew ahead, leading them at a moderate pace. Looking behind her, she confirmed that the Professor was still going, despite the damage his new Powerprof suit had withstood. Blossom, like her sisters, had shed what left of their own powered armor spacesuits. They had served their purpose. Without them, Blossom doubted that they would have survived very long in that last battle.

But that was over now.

Brick had said so. The one that they... that he... had killed... it was the last. It was over, now. Such a thing was hard to believe, really. Just like that? It was over. There had to be more. No. She knew it with certainty: there WAS more. Brick, even now, was not telling the whole truth. She could feel it.

Where were they?

That didn't matter. Where were they going? Where was Brick taking them? He had planned for this, all along. Perhaps, once, he would have instead lured them into being where he wanted them to be. Not now. Now, he was taking them somewhere. He had planned for this, anticipated it, and waited for it, ever since he had returned to Townsville. Maybe before.

Finally, a speck of land came into view.

"Is that...?" Buttercup was, unsurprisingly enough, the first to muster the courage to ask.

"Monster Island," Butch answered, for his brother.

"You know?" The Professor asked, straining his voice from his position in the rear of the formation.

"I took them there for a little sight seeing tour, Professor." Brick finally spoke up, for the first time since they had taken off from the battleground of Townsville. "I'm sure you checked the island sometime after we did."

"We blew up the volcano." Boomer clarified. He was, perhaps, the least subtle Rowdyruff. It just wasn't in his nature to lie to others. The blunt truth was usually more entertaining. "One of those things... the one we had to merge to defeat... it was here, too."

Blossom squinted her eyes, examining the island, as they grew closer. It was a small piece of land in a sea of blue, black like an eyesore. The great peak of a volcano stood out, though she could see that part of its side had collapsed. The entire surface of the island had been wiped clean by a tide of molten rock, though a few pillars of tenacious stone, and some large rock outcroppings added a tiny bit of diversity to the place. What looked like it might once have been a sprawling reef was in tatters.

This was no vacation spot. For some reason, Blossom remembered the vacation to the Bahamas that had been canceled, many months ago after a run in with HIM in what had, maybe, been the future. Or it could have been a hallucination. Either/Or, they had canceled it when they got home, fearing for the safety of Townsville. It had been for the best, or at least they thought it had been. Still, Blossom had wanted to go to the Bahamas. She had wanted to bask in the warm tropical sun, on a beach of pearl-white sand, with the only noise that of the waves rhythmically beating against the land. A cool glass of lemonade in hand, she would just lie and read and sleep and not worry, for once.

Just for once.

If that vision was paradise, what she was heading towards was Hell. It was a blasted, hateful land. Closer now, only faint, hardy scrubs and a few grasses dared to try and survive on the layer of fresh volcanic debris that covered Monster Island. Ironically, she would have been happy, relieved even, if a monster had jumped out at them, bellowing and roaring and drooling.

"I killed this land," Brick said, proudly. His tone became harder. "I hate this place. It killed me; it was the least I could do to return the favor."

He landed, and so did they, silently.

He was talking now, as much to himself as them. "Hate this place. Hate it. Hate every rock... every crevasse... every scrap of life... everything. Everything."

"Does it..." She ventured, and took a step towards him. Butch and Boomer visibly tensed, but didn't interfere. "Does it remind you of...?"

"Her?" Brick slowly turned around, his cold red eyes burning into her. He smirked: a silent 'yes.' "Old news, Bloss. Old news. I think only of the future, now. Tell me, Professor... why this island? Was it just the location, the power source ... I never was able to find out if the Artifact was found here, or elsewhere."

"I..." The Professor quickly clammed up.

"Come now. What can it hurt? You tell all, I'll tell all." He kicked a dusty pebble into the air and out of sight. "Truth or Dare, Professor."

"The Artifact... was found in the desert." John Utonium sighed, defeated, at least for the moment. "During World War Two. In either Egypt or Lybia, I'm not sure. It was brought here in 1950, back when this island was just a surveillance station. They thought was a new metal or alloy... an armor to allow ships or planes to survive a nuclear airburst."

"Pity it wasn't." Brick turned around and started walking away. "Follow me, all."

"Where are we going, bro?" Boomer asked, running up to Brick's side.

"Well..." Brick cleared his throat. "You may as well know our little secret, at this point. Boomer, Butch... I told you that I came back, that I recreated both of you, due to a little time travel paradox."

"Yeah?" Butch didn't like where this was going.

"I lied." Brick admitted. "I tore both of you, bleeding and screaming, from the body of a monster. Just like a Cesarean Section, actually."

"ces... Ceas..." Bubbles tried to repeat the word. "What?" And failed.

"Cesarean Section. It's when you... umm... remove a baby from a mother through surgery." The Professor answered, a bit uncomfortable with telling her the answer. He hadn't even thought about ever giving his girls 'the talk,' and even if he had, this was not nearly the right time or place.

"I still don't understand..." Bubbles grumbled.

"Heh." Boomer rolled his eyes. "That makes two of us. What do you mean, bro? Tore us from..."

"A monster?" Brick paused. "After you died, Boomer, your purified Chemical X, the very blood in your veins, reformed and attached to a new set of ingredients. You were a rather strange looking creature - crablike. Something out of a bad Godzilla movie. Once I found you, it was simple enough to... subdue you, and using my mind, force your core to revert itself. A strong enough willpower can act in the place of ingredients entirely. Luckily, I had just that. Butch, you were a sort of slime creature. Yellow and black, with oh... maybe fifteen eyes. I didn't bother to count."

"Dude." Butch sneered. "You're fuckin' with me, right?"

"Not at all," Brick said, simply. "I was a big orange lizard."

"You mean..." Buttercup and Bubbles started to talk at the same time.

"And Bunny..." Brick cut in, and they quickly shut up and listened. Bunny? "Bunny was the most deformed, disgusting thing I'd ever seen. Yet... beauty is in the eye of a beholder. Among monsters, she was considered quite the catch. Quite the catch..." He trailed off, and shook his head, mutely. "Here we are."

Brick's eyes widened, flashing into X-ray mode for a moment, and drawing back his fist, he punched the side of a somewhat steep embankment. The rock shattered like glass, and with contemptuous ease, he brushed aside the tons of stone and ash. Finally, a brown-stained metal door became visible. This was Monster Island, yet it was clearly man sized.

Brick's right hand crept into a small crack between the sliding metal door, and with a heave, he pushed it out of the way. It groaned and hissed, rust sliding and burning with friction induced sparks, but ultimately retreated into the side of the frame and out of sight. Brick stood back and smiled.

"It took me weeks to find that damn door." He started inside, down a dark corridor. "But it was worth it when I did."

Buttercup noticed a large logo just behind the door, and to the side, near a burnt out panel. It was a faded capital 'M' with five dots beneath it. The words next to the logo were almost unreadable.

"Majestic?" She managed to decipher.

"This base... was called Majestic Five. There were four other Majestic facilities." Brick looked over his shoulder at them, as if they were all in perfect daylight and not in a dark cave. Bubbles, personally, was sticking near the Professor. "From what I gathered ... including some of your work, Professor (very enlightening), there was another facility in Norway, one here in the good ol' USA, hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, another at the South Pole... which I found." Brick chuckled. "As for the third one, I wasn't able to determine even a vague location. Sadly, most of that information was lost, and the fellows I met up with in the Antarctic weren't very cooperative. Still, it netted me enough leverage and blackmail material that no government in the western world would lay a finger on me."

"But I'm getting off topic." Brick swept his arms wide, and spun around. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is Majestic Five. The Facility built to investigate a rare and rather unusual artifact with the potential to help all humanity. Or... yes... or destroy it. But mankind is eternally hopeful. What other species would assume there was something special set aside for them after they die? Hope. That same stupid hope led some unusually perceptive and foolish bigwigs to pick an ambitious cold-hearted bastard to head this place, oh, around 1970-something. What was his name, again, Professor?"

The eyes of three Powerpuff girls, and two stunned ruffs, fell on him.

"It was me," He admitted. "It was me."

"But you weren't really the problem, were you?" Brick laughed. "It was your son."

* * *

**1997 CE  
October 5  
T- 0 Hours**

"Sir?" Jean nudged him. "Do you hear that, sir?"

Slowly, he nodded.

"What on earth is going on here?" The other member of their group, the young guard, anxiously tried raising someone on the pulse radio frequency they used for secure communications. "Nothing but static."

"That can only mean that the communications relay is out." Utonium rounded the corner at an intersection. He stopped abruptly.

"Wha...?" His aide gaped when she saw it - one of the doors, heavy metal blast doors, had been torn out and thrown aside. Deep gashes marred its smooth surface. In the distance, the sound of something running, like thunder, shook them to the bone. Far away, something screamed, but it was barely audible.

* * *

"Son?!" Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles gasped, as one. Bubbles tugged as his right pant leg, exposed where the damaged armor had been taken off. "Professor, you..."

His pained expression didn't engender her to finish her question.

"I was going to tell you." He bit back the emotion that threatened to overflow from within. "I WAS. But... but I couldn't. Not until you were older. Not until you needed to know."

"See?" Brick started softly laughing again, even as he led them deeper and deeper into the unknown. "I told you we were more alike than you cared to admit, Professor."

The older man didn't dignify that with a response.

"I remember crawling around in here... exploring..." Brick began his tale anew. "The Burn you activated before you abandoned this place had destroyed almost everything, but there were still a few tidbits to find. Including your son's research into Chemical X, as well as that of Doctor Goldstein, Doctor Kashiro, and a certain Colonel Utonium, the only doctorate in the place who also held a military rank. None of the equipment worked, and the generators were pretty much beyond repair, but the information itself, once in a machine that worked, was invaluable. Your son, in particular, was quite a genius, especially for one so young. I wonder: did you resent that, or was it because he killed your woman in childbirth?"

"Brick!" Blossom snapped, and grabbed him by the scruff of his shoulder. "How could you say such a thing?! How could you be so insensitive?"

"Being a murderer does that to you." His shoulder shook out from under her grip roughly. Looking back, she saw the Professor's expression go from glassy to stony.

"Of course, you are a different animal, now. Caring. Kind. Loving. Almost the anti-thesis of how you were just a few years ago." Brick ducked his head a bit, looking up and then to the side, where a torn off blast door lay propped against the wall. He led them through the gaping threshold. "Regardless, it was here that I found out about Chemical X, and its true origin and potential. It was a potential only your son saw. Still, for all his genius, he overestimated himself. He didn't see all angles."

* * *

**1997 CE  
October 5  
T- 0 Hours**

"Nine... nine... Nine... the magic number nine..."

Motioning silently to the left, the two well-armed individuals guarding the Colonel moved in front of him, weapons at the ready. Utonium could see that they, too, had heard the voice, deep but soft, just around the corner at the end of the hall, in the main research lab. It sounded... almost... like Robert. It was true enough: the two of them had never gotten along. They had different political views, different ways of organizing their lives, different priorities... and then there had been his mother.

John had met her in grad school, one year his senior. She was beautiful, smart, witty, self confident... she was everything he had ever dreamt of. They had hastily gotten married at a small outdoor service, inviting only a few very friends and family. Those times with her had been happy, wonderful, bright days...

When she had died, a part of him had, too.

"Nine. Yes... nine! A mistake, but not too late! No!"

Silently signaling to move, first the guard, than Jean, headed for the open door. John followed them, his own pistol rubbing against his thigh, reminding him of his damned responsibilities. That had always kept them apart, even after the brilliant young Robert Utonium had been accepted into the Organization and given a research staff in Majestic Five. It occurred to John, for the first time, that he'd never even seen his son play ball, or picked him up from school - he'd always delegated stuff like that to others. It had just seemed unimportant until now.

"Freeze!" "Don't move!"

The two military personnel raised their weapons to eye level, training the deadly sights on the one ragged figure in the middle of the wrecked research laboratory. Back to them, the figure was hastily scribbling something down, and talking to himself. His shoulders bunched up and tensed at their words, but otherwise ignored them.

"Nine layers." He repeated. "Eight, then the core. Core core core... Dreamland! But I need more Chemical X! More! For another generation... two. Removed from the first. Impure!"

"Robert!" John barked, and instantly, the figure spun around. It was Robert all right, his chest heaving, his body burning with some inner burden. What struck the older man most, however, were his son's red glowing eyes, gleaming madly in the dim light.

"Papa..." The face twisted, a savage grin appearing. "You'll be so proud... so proud... I made a mistake, yes. One mistake. But it is small. Small small small. Small, compared to what I can achieve! I know what to do now! I know the secret! The secret! Only me! Me!"

"Robert..." The father reached out, shaking his head slowly. "Son... what have you done?"

The tone was disapproving. In that instant, what little of Robert Utonium that had been in John's son disappeared entirely. Before the older Utonium could blink, what had once been his flesh and blood was upon him, in a sudden rage, and then the staccato chorus of gunfire filled the air.

Followed by silence.

* * *

"I believe I once said that Chemical X is... how did I put it? Thought and Willpower, given form?" Brick checked Blossom's expression for only an instant, and kept walking, around another corner, and into a large open area that might have once been a lab. His eyes flashed, and here and there, tiny fires provided some illumination. Candles placed many, many weeks ago. Brick floated over to one, and set it upright from where it'd been jammed into place, and promptly knocked back down by the volcanic eruption that had rocked the island.

"I asked all of you, at different times, what you think you are, and what you think your role in the world was." Brick's tone became somber, serious, lacking even the cruel playfulness of earlier. He looked from Blossom to Buttercup to Bubbles. "Were you Protectors of the people, given that right and responsibility because of the powers you were born with? Were you free spirits who chose to follow the morality of the day? Were you just children with superpowers?"

He then turned to Boomer and Butch. "Were you weapons to destroy the Powerpuff Girls? Were you a soldier, following orders?"

Brick crossed his arms. "The truth is far simpler than any of that. We are keys. A means to an end."

"I... I still don't understand..." Boomer sighed.

"This..." Brick floated back, and pointed at a small black object, spherical, behind a broken wall of clear crystal. Bits of wrecked machinery and ruined electronics hung from the ceiling and lay around inside the large cylinder like bedding. "This is the Artifact. It is the source of Chemical X. It is my theory that this little beauty is, indeed, sentience given form. Every dream, every emotion, every flash of inspiration... The Professor's son called the phenomenon it caused 'Telephysics.' It allowed the manipulation of reality itself, but only for a short radius around the Artifact, and only on a small scale. The material itself was effectively indestructible, because the laws of normal physics did not properly apply to it. However, he was able to scan it, fifth dimensionally, and chart its growth... its growth over time... its growth mirroring that of mankind. This Artifact was a product of man, and Robert Utonium deeply believed man could return on the investment. He wanted to change the world for the better."

"But he failed." Brick closed his eyes, a small smile on his lips. "He injected himself with an interim chemical he called Chemical Extract, or Chemical X, harvested from specially engineered microorganisms given long term exposure to the Artifact. He thought this would bridge the gap between the normal physics that limited mankind like shackles, and the unlimited potential of the Artifact itself. He thought he would be... should be... that bridge. And so, with the Chemical burning through his bloodstream, he embraced the Artifact and made contact. Only then did he realize that what was needed was not a bridge, but a third party. One removed from both the Telephysical and Physical. What was needed was a second generation, born of Chemical X, but with the thoughts and willpower of a Man."

"Us." Blossom stated the obvious. "You're talking about us."

"Indeed I am." Brick motioned to the ruined machinery all around them. "What followed was a disaster. After Robert failed to make contact, others tried; desperately... they knew that failure with this experiment would be the end of their careers. Sanity was rapidly abandoned... the Chemical in their blood had another effect. It made deep wants, deep desires, manifest. You remember what I told you around man, don't you, Bloss?"

"A beast." She remembered well. "You said that deep down, every man, woman and child is a beast."

"Yesss." Brick hissed. "And so they became beasts. And they tore this place apart. But young Robert Utonium... he survived. He clung to his humanity. I cannot prove it, but I suspect his greatest want... his greatest desire... was the love and acceptance of his father." Brick gave his elder a hard glare. "Did he receive it, in the end? Or did you put him down like a rabid dog?"

Professor Utonium's upper lip curled into a snarl. "Don't you DARE judge me, boy! Don't you dare."

"You love him deeply." Brick turned away, dropping the subject. "I suppose he got his wish, then."

"Where do those things we fought work into this?" Surprisingly, it was Bubbles who asked it.

"Each one was a layer of defense around the core of the Artifact. When I formalized my plans, shortly after bringing back my brothers, I began the process Robert Utonium outlined in his last moments. I approached the object, and tried to make contact. It released the First One, almost instantly, and I could see a thin layer of it just... melt away, go through the floor, and disappear. I knew it had begun. I checked after we killed one of them, to make sure everything was working, and to try and get a feel for when the next attack would come."

"Eight layers of defense. The first to show up was a lanky creature, though it was really the second. The true first was the one that infected HIM, I suspect. Regardless, my brothers and I were enough to take care of the second one. The third was that spherical thing. Technically, it was HIM's power that defeated it, in the end. Remember when I told you I was going to pray? Do whom, did you think I was praying? Still, who would have thought the bane of mankind would, in the end, destroy himself saving it?" Brick snorted at that. "The fourth... the fourth was the 'Abnormal matter' creature that was ravaging this island. The fifth was that giant fish that reformed in saltwater, though we killed it after the sixth, which was the seven legged spider with the acid blood. The seventh was the mirror that made replicas of us. I remember that confrontation quite well, through Blossom's eyes. Again, HIM played an important role I was unable to do much about. He was using Bubbles, manipulating her and trying to reform his power. A tenacious soul to the end, I suppose. The eighth was the Angelic being I tore apart from the inside."

"Now!" Brick started towards the exposed sphere, floating serenely in midair. "Now, I claim the prize! The core is exposed... mine for the taking! I shall merge with it, take it into myself, and through it... through it... I shall have control... over everything!"

"What?" Blossom gaped. Buttercup and Bubbles looked confused. What did he just say?

"Everything. The Core is All-thought. All-willpower. Sentience. By controlling sentience, I shall bring order to the human race and reshape the world. I shall deconstruct this flawed existence of whim and chance, and remake it. It shall be a perfect world..." Brick caught the Professor's movement out of the corner of his eye, and with superhuman speed, blasted the older man's forearm, melting the plasma gauntlet there to slag before he could take aim and fire. Yelping, and drawing back, the Professor grimaced in pain and shock.

He turned to the girls, eyes frantic. "Stop him!"

"I..." Buttercup looked from the Professor to Brick, to Butch. "Maybe..."

Bubbles hesitated. She looked to Boomer. The two Rowdyruffs were still watching their brother as he strode slowly towards his target, arms out. Only Blossom was capable, was knowledgeable enough, of seeing through the lines in Brick's declaration. Again, there was something he wasn't telling them.

All-thought.

All-willpower.

'The goal of this battle is not food or shelter, but respect, and because this is not a biological desire, it is seen as the first glimmer of human freedom...You inspired me Blossom, I want you to know that. ... I... Maybe I want some understanding ... You liked saving the day. Being loved. ... Being admired. ... Being worshipped. ... Don't cry, Bloss. It's not somethin' to feel guilty about. You should embrace it.'

Embrace it.

'So long as I live, I shall dominate those I can.'

Embrace it!

'And what a crude quintessence, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born!'

And in that instant, she knew what he was really planning. Brick wanted control. No: he needed control, over his destiny, and over that of others. That was what this was all about. Brick had not been in control, and he and his brothers had died. Brick had not been in control, and whether he admitted it or not, he had been forced to kill the one thing he had cared for. Brick blamed himself, but he also blamed fate. Not being in control made him feel weak and vulnerable. It reminded him of his mortality and his failures. Deep down, it scared him. It scared him more than anything.

Now, he was going to seize power. Not just power, she realized, but conscious thought itself. That sphere was a manifestation of mankind's thoughts, mankind's sentience; mankind's free will! Brick was going to deconstruct that, tear it down and tear it apart, and remake it as himself. He was going to bring human civilization to an end, and replace it... with himself.

She raced forward, cursing herself for not figuring it out sooner.

The world around her blurred, and slowly Brick turned, his eyes meeting hers. One hand snaked out, and so slowly it burned into her mind, the Rowdyruff touched the floating black sphere, grabbed hold, and with terrible suddenness, shoved it into his chest. Blossom hit molasses, as the air turned thick, and a wave of force slammed into her.

She felt nothing.

She saw only black.

The End of the World had come for them all.

* * *

**1997 CE  
October 5  
T- 0 Hours**

Jean's body hit the ground with a wet splatter.

Laughing a deep, animal laugh, the shell of Robert Utonium looked down at the corpse at his feet. Strong hands brushed a stray bit of black hair from in front of her left eye, as bloody fingers trailed a crimson line down high cheekbones to broken neck. He stood up, slowly, and looked over his shoulder contemptuously, where the other guard, the young man, lay, breathing irregularly, blood trailing down his jaw.

They had forgotten.

Robert was also an All-American athlete, almost Olympic level, as well as a double black belt in Shotokan, far faster and stronger than he appeared in his loose lab coat, plain shirt and pants. In what seemed like a fraction of a second, he had pushed his father back, into the armed woman behind him, and attacked the man to the left. The guard had barely had time to depress the trigger, allowing Robert to slip in from the side, and strike his throat and groin.

He fell back, coughing blood, and limply collapsed.

After that, it was easy enough for the younger Utonium heir to kick aside his father, slap away the woman's weapon, and elbow her in the breastbone. Just like that, he had her head in his hands. Firing uselessly to the side, panic on her features, bullets bouncing off the reinforced walls of the laboratory, Jean's neck was broken with a loud crack before anyone could act.

"I knew..." Robert's voice was hoarse and strained through his animal fury. The Chemical X in his veins caused them to stand out, easily visible even in the half-light. He faced his prone father. "I knew... you would not understand... my dream..."

"Robert..." John Utonium felt a tear, hot and wet, on his cheek. Fumbling at first, his military training kicked in, and he reached for his sidearm. Robert made no move, just watching as his father drew his weapon, a simple 9mm. "Don't... don't make me..."

Blinking, Robert Utonium smiled. "I already did."

And then he charged.

To the sound of gunfire.

* * *

"What is mankind, but a mob of self important ants, to lecture ethics to a god?" The voice boomed, and the black featureless world shook: trembled like a leaf in a storm. "And we are gods. God before - gods now. My brothers... my sisters... I raise you up! Open your eyes!"

With great effort, Blossom's eyes opened, and she saw.

They were on a beach; clean and clear as ever could exist. A crystal blue sky shone overhead, not a cloud in sight to mar the view. High overhead, a gaggle of birds flew in perfect, regimented formation, gradually disappearing behind a grove of tall palm trees. The steady pulse of the surf against the beach soothed her, and one thought dominated all others.

This... this was paradise.

"Welcome, all." Brick was out on the beach, casting a deceptively long shadow all the way out to sea. Blossom saw, behind him, Boomer and Butch, looking around, somewhat confused. To her left, Bubbles and Buttercup seemed to be in a similar state. Behind her, the Professor was slowly getting to his feet, a small smile on his face.

"Where are we?" Bubbles gasped, taking the whole place in.

"This is... was... Monster Island." Brick approached them, all smiles. "You cannot imagine how happy this makes me. All of us, we all survived the ordeal and the tests, and now we shall all reap the rewards. The world... the future is ours, now. As it should be. As it was always meant to be."

"Our world?" Buttercup intoned.

"Yes. A world free of hatred and poverty and war. Free of want. Free of whim. Save our own, of course." He placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. "We've all been through a good deal. Relax, for the moment. Relax. Soon, we will divide things up."

"Divide things up?" Boomer scratched his chin idly. "You mean... the world?"

"Of course. It is only fitting." Brick smirked. "We wouldn't want the world to stagnate, would we? There must be some differences, some conflict, for there to be growth. Those differences are in each of you. You will bring it to those under you."

"You..." Blossom looked around, past the beautiful island paradise, to the Professor's face. He was happy. Serenely happy. But his eyes... She had looked into them all her life. She could feel whether he was happy, sad, angry, proud ... he was her father. She knew. Just as she knew that now, his eyes were empty.

Empty.

"You monster!" Blossom lunged for Brick. Surprised, the red Rowdyruff did nothing as she grabbed twin fistfuls of his shirt. "You've killed him! You've killed everyone!"

His eyes narrowed a fraction. "He's happy."

"He's a fucking puppet!" Blossom shook him, and his smile faded. "How could you?!"

"Blossom!" Butch and Buttercup said, with carrying degrees of surprise, as they tried to pry the pink Powerpuff off her counterpart. Boomer finally jumped in, helping them. He was amazed. Blossom had never, ever, cursed before.

"Red!" He pulled her grip on Brick loose, finally. "What are you doing?!"

"Can't you see what he's done?" Blossom's vision became misty from tears. "He's killed everyone! They're all dolls! He's controlling them!"

"I control them no more than the axis controls the circle." Brick straightened his shirt. "This is the twilight of mankind, and the genesis of OUR kind. I did this for all of us."

"You did this for yourself, Brick! I know you did! I know you!" Blossom finally shook Butch and Buttercup off of her. Angrily, she kicked the pearl white sand, creating a dirty cloud in the air. "Don't lie and say you did this for anyone but yourself. You needed us, and you used us... used me..."

"It is the nature of..." He paused, remembering in full what he was about to say.

"It is the nature of man to dominate." Blossom said for him. "Yet, you hate mankind. You say you are not man, and yet you are! You're the worst: the need to control, the inability to trust, the fear of love... you are man! The worst of man!"

"Don't say that," Brick hissed, warningly.

"Say it isn't true!" Blossom challenged, and then turned on Butch and Buttercup. "Don't you see what he's done? He's crushed the human spirit! He's destroyed free will! This was what HIM was afraid of! Brick... turned mankind into... into robots... without passion, or hatred, or love or choice... he's destroyed everything..."

"Don't be nostalgic!" Brick snarled. "Mankind is little more than chattel! The vast percentage of the population is useless to us - an inefficient waste of finite resources and effort... Their passion is not needed! Only the input of a few is desired... they can still think, still reason... feeling is irrelevant now. We can, we will, feel for them. We will be in control. Isn't that what you all want?"

Brick pointed at Bubbles. "Don't you love the earth? Don't you love the world? Now you can save it, protect it, nurture it... and people will work with you, not against you. For you, not for themselves!"

Then to Buttercup. "You'll be admired. Loved! For who you are - perfect beings!"

To Butch. "You can be what you want to be. Do what you want to do. No one will judge you!"

"You'll never be alone." Boomer.

Blossom. "This will be our world. Our perfect world. We are the shepherds. The light."

"You cannot deny this." Brick finished. "You cannot deny that you've always wanted this. This gift I give you."

The five children looked around, at their peers.

After what seemed like a silent eternity, Blossom stepped forward. "I deny it."

"What?" Brick sneered.

"I deny it. What are we shepherds of: mindless dolls of flesh and blood? Leadership... it isn't about control... its about caring. It's about those you lead, not the leader. It's about sacrifice. Your own sacrifice. You understand a lot of things, Brick, but not that."

For a few tense seconds, she stood alone, looking him in the eye.

Then, Butch took a step forward. "Brick..."

"Et tu?" Brick's stunned gaze fell on his brother, nearly crushing in intensity. For a moment, Butch almost backed down, but things had changed. He had changed.

"Brick... I want to be who I want to be. I have a responsibility to myself... but I also have a responsibility to others. How others see you, it isn't everything, but it isn't nothin, either. And... and..." He squeezed his eyes shut, gathering all his confidence and strength. "And this isn't right, man. This just ain't the right thing to do."

"No. It's not." Bubbles added, also stepping forward. "People make mistakes. People get hurt. Things get hurt. But it's part of life. How can you be happy, if you're never sad? How can you be happy, if you never have a choice not to be?"

"No." Brick held up a hand. "You don't know..."

"Bro." Boomer cut him off, stepping up with the others. "I know... I know some of what you remember. Dying. There is darkness in us, just like in all people. Even Bubbles. It hurts... it hurts thinking you're a failure... thinking that you can't hold the things you care about together. It hurts, I know. But it feels good knowing... knowing that others can accept you. Can love you."

"For who you are." Buttercup finished for the blonde Rowdyruff. "Yeah. You can't do this, Brick."

"you... You..." His voice grew in strength, multiplied in fury. "You FOOLS!!"

Stepping back, the Rowdyruff Leader's face twisted into a thing of pure rage. "How could you... how could you all betray me?! I loved you! I saved you! I guided you to a future of unlimited promise, and... and you spit in my face?! And you cast me out?! I... I... I..."

"B... Brick... " Blossom reached for him. Reached for that spark of goodness she knew was deep within him.

But it was long gone.

"I WILL NOT BE DENIED!!" His body began to glow. All around him, pure white sand kicked high into the air, blackening from the heat. "NOT BY YOU!! NOT BY ANYONE!!"

Buttercup and Butch tensed, ready to attack.

"Judas!" Brick's right hand swept to the side, and a torrent of red energy slammed into Butch, throwing him to the ground. Tendrils of sand reached up, pinning him where he lay, even as he struggled to get back up. Floating higher into the air, the great blazing conflagration around Brick only seemed to grown in intensity. He pointed down at Butch. "You would strike me down? You would see me fall, all for your foolishness? All for your vaunted humanity?!"

"I won't stand for it!" Brick yelled, his voice straining. Instantly, Buttercup was in the air. Brick saw her coming, easily, and rose a single hand. The aura of fire around him became a massive hand, and caught the speeding Powerpuff with deceptive ease. "Little insect! You are no match for me... you never were! How DARE you deny me?"

Buttercup yelped, and then the giant hand opened, and she fell to the ground. Recovering from his shock, Boomer quickly flew over, in a streak of light, and caught her before she hit the ground. Checking her pulse, and relieved to find one, he looked over to Bubbles, silently hoping she wouldn't try anything rash.

Brick looked down at them, anger in his eyes.

Only anger.

"How could you make me do this to you?" Brick's voice was a little softer this time, but still carried as clear as a church bell in the morning. "Have I not killed enough? Have I not done enough... seen enough... endured enough... to earn your loyalty? Your trust? Your love?"

Bubbles wiped her eyes, tears springing forth uncontrolled. "It isn't too late, Brick... please..."

"Please?" Brick's tone became cold and hard at that word. "You hate me, remember? I'm 'mean.' Or did you forget?"

Bubbles wiped her eyes again, more furiously. She looked behind Blossom, and saw the Professor, staring blankly at what was going on, a vacant smile still on his face. Overwhelmed, she broke down, then and there. Brick laughed, a dry hollow sound, devoid of any real mirth or amusement.

"If I am to be hated... then so be it." Brick's red eyes burnt, wisps of bright flame arching around the side of his face and rising into the air. "All of creation will feel my rejection. And my wrath!"

He held his hand out, pointed it down: at them.

Blossom, clearing her own eyes, floated slowly up towards him. As she did, Brick's eyes tracked her, searching and waiting for a hostile move. Instead, she stopped in front of his palm, arms at her side.

"Do it, Brick," She said, voice strained. "Do it."

"Do... it?" He repeated.

"You can't control us. Or else you would have already, after we..." She didn't say 'rejected you,' but instead left it implied but unsaid. "The only way to win is to kill us. To kill me. Kill Bubbles. Kill Buttercup. Kill your brothers."

His hand started to shake, ever so slightly - a minuscule tremor in his body.

"Kill us all, Brick." She blinked, hard, tears fall down her cheeks. A few delicate drops hit his hand. "But none of us hate you. Your brothers... your brothers love you. Just because they don't want to do... this... doesn't mean they don't. It doesn't mean that you're weak. Just... just wrong... it's wrong, what you did, what you want to keep doing..."

"No." He shook his head. "No it's..."

"It is wrong."

"no..."

"Will you be happy, Brick? Killing us all?" She reached down, took his hand, and put it right on her chest, over her heart. "If so, then do it! You have the power. Do it! But ask yourself this: are you happy? Has all this made you happy, Brick?"

Slowly, his eyes closed.

"Will you ever be happy... going down this road?" She watched as his hand dropped. Between clenched eyes, tiny drops collected. He fought them, tried to hold them down. Gulping, he started to slump forward.

"why?" He asked in a small voice. "Why can't I win? Why can't I be happy?"

"You can be." She reached out for him, and as her hands got closer, his halo of flames faded away, disappearing entirely. "I can't tell you how, Brick. That's up to you to decide. But you can be. Just... not this way. Not this way."

Gradually, they floated down. Brick hit the ground with his knees, landing on the soft sand. He fell forward, his forehead hitting the beach. His body still shaking, Brick's red hat fell off, and rolled to a stop at Blossom's feet, leaving his uncombed dark orange hair to blow in the suddenly cold wind. Brick, the god - Brick, the unbeatable - Brick, the invincible... was gone. There was only Brick, the boy. The child. Abandoned and alone and angry.

"Not this way." She affirmed, her voice almost a whisper. Then, to her surprise, Brick held out his hand, and in it rested a small black sphere. Curious, amazed, drawn... she reached down, and picked it up. Its surface was like the finest silk, pleasing to the touch. A faint tingle on her nerves reached her mind. A part of it wanted to be one. A part of it wanted to help her - to help her make the world a better place.

Brick had been wrong.

The Artifact could be used to help mankind. It could eliminate poverty, and hate and conflict and ignorance and deviant behavior and... And Blossom realized, then and there, that it could not be used. This small sphere in her hand was a manifestation of mankind's burden. The burden of suffering. The burden of knowing. The burden of choice. This was mankind's curse.

And she wouldn't trade it in for anything.

"Not this way."

In the hardest, most difficult decision of her life, and in every way the most important, Blossom Utonium... let go. The tiny sphere spiraled into the air. For no real reason, the pink Powerpuff blinked, and then it was gone. Now. Now it was over. Looking down at Brick, she couldn't help but kneel down and shelter him with her body, feeling his sobs, his built up misery, come out like a burst dam. Finally: It was over.

"The End."

* * *

This is, essentially, the end of the Gauntlet Series. Well, except for a single follow up, one-shot fanfic... '**Gauntlet: Epilogue**.' But this is the end of the story arc I had been building around all this time. I hope everyone who read this series enjoyed it, because I enjoyed writing it. The ending was, indeed, more than a little depressing, maybe, but also very positive. Things are far from perfect, but they are, at last, getting better.

Inspiration for this came from many varies sources, including but not limited to:  
The Powerpuff Girls  
Neon Genesis Evangeleon  
Biblical stuff (4 years of stupid theology in catholic school - argh)  
Assorted Philosophy (read some Kant and Nietzsche...)  
Pulp Fiction (that once scene in Gauntlet: Crucible)  
Pizza  
Numerous other PPG authors, whose works inspired me to actually sit down and start organizing this thing in my mind and write it. Especially Parsec, Powerprof, Sniper and a few others. Oh, and a few rather... 'non-good' authors who irked me to the point where I wanted to write something different from the normal PPG-RRB fare.  
All those wrote gave me Comments/Criticism and Reviews  
Chinese Food!!

Hmm. I'm not very good at these 'end of story author's notes things' but I'll go on for at least a little more. Ramble ramble ramble... This fanfic turned out a fair bit longer and more involved than I initially had planned, and here and there, I wanted to draw things out a lot more, but didn't. Pacing was a serious concern, both in terms of prose (for the reader) and time it takes to write and execute (me). Still, I'm quite pleased with how things turned out.

- Cap'n Chryssalid  
-


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